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Perez DM, Manica LT, Medina I. Variation in nest-building behaviour in birds: a multi-species approach. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220145. [PMID: 37427476 PMCID: PMC10331906 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Researchers have long suggested that animals with greater behavioural flexibility will be more likely to survive in face of environmental changes. However, it is unknown how this varies across species. Nest building is a behaviour directly related to the reproduction and survival of species by conferring protection from external environmental conditions. The study of nests offers a window into the behaviour of birds, and variation in nest morphology is necessarily linked to variation in building behaviours. We test whether variation in nest morphology is phylogenetically conserved by using data on nest morphology from 55 passerine species (>700 specimens) and measuring intraspecific variability in nest structure. We found that species mean and within-species variation in nest morphology are phylogenetically conserved, and that species with domed nests presented higher levels of nest morphology variation than cup nest species. We also revealed that the capacity of species to present innovative behaviours is not linked with how they vary nest morphology. Moreover, we revealed that nests from species with larger variation in clutch size and that are built by single parents are more variable. Our results help in the understanding of how behaviour and extended phenotypes evolve, and highlight the importance of exploring the phylogenetic history of behavioural flexibility when trying to predict the capacity of species to respond to novel challenges. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolutionary ecology of nests: a cross-taxon approach'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela M. Perez
- Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz, 78464, Germany
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Lilian T. Manica
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Iliana Medina
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3056, Australia
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2
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Hämäläinen R, Kajanus MH, Forsman JT, Kivelä SM, Seppänen JT, Loukola OJ. Ecological and evolutionary consequences of selective interspecific information use. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:490-503. [PMID: 36849224 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/04/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023]
Abstract
Recent work has shown that animals frequently use social information from individuals of their own species as well as from other species; however, the ecological and evolutionary consequences of this social information use remain poorly understood. Additionally, information users may be selective in their social information use, deciding from whom and how to use information, but this has been overlooked in an interspecific context. In particular, the intentional decision to reject a behaviour observed via social information has received less attention, although recent work has indicated its presence in various taxa. Based on existing literature, we explore in which circumstances selective interspecific information use may lead to different ecological and coevolutionary outcomes between two species, such as explaining observed co-occurrences of putative competitors. The initial ecological differences and the balance between the costs of competition and the benefits of social information use potentially determine whether selection may lead to trait divergence, convergence or coevolutionary arms race between two species. We propose that selective social information use, including adoption and rejection of behaviours, may have far-reaching fitness consequences, potentially leading to community-level eco-evolutionary outcomes. We argue that these consequences of selective interspecific information use may be much more widespread than has thus far been considered.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mira H Kajanus
- Ecology and Genetics, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | | | - Sami M Kivelä
- Ecology and Genetics, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
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3
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From whom do animals learn? A meta-analysis on model-based social learning. Psychon Bull Rev 2023:10.3758/s13423-022-02236-4. [PMID: 36609963 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02236-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Social learning via the observation of or interaction with other individuals can allow animals to obtain information about the local environment. Once social information is obtained, animals may or may not act on and use this information. Animals may learn from others selectively based on particular characteristics (e.g., familiarity, age, dominance) of the information provider, which is thought to maximize the benefits of social learning. Biases to copy certain individuals over others plays an important role in how information is transmitted and used among individuals, and can influence the emergence of group-level behaviors (i.e., traditions). Two underlying factors can affect from whom animals learn: the population social dynamics - with whom you associate (e.g., familiar), and status of the demonstrator (e.g., dominant). We systematically surveyed the literature and conducted a meta-analysis to test whether demonstrator characteristics consistently influence social learning, and if social dynamics strategies differ from status strategies in their influence on social learning. We extracted effect sizes from papers that used an observer-demonstrator paradigm to test if the characteristics of the individual providing social information (i.e., the demonstrator) influence social information use by observers. We obtained 139 effect sizes on 33 species from 54 experiments. First, we found an effect of experimental design on the influence of demonstrator characteristics on social learning: between-subject designs had stronger effects compared to within-subject designs. Second, we found that demonstrator characteristics do indeed influence social learning. Characteristics based on social dynamics and characteristics based on status had a significant effect on social learning, especially when copying familiar and kin demonstrators. These results highlight the role that demonstrator characteristics play on social learning, which can have implications for the formation and establishment of behavioural traditions in animals.
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Hämäläinen R, Välimäki P, Forsman JT. Size of an interspecific competitor may be a source of information in reproductive decisions. Behav Ecol 2023; 34:33-41. [PMID: 36789394 PMCID: PMC9918860 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals use inter-specific cues as a source of information in decisions-making, but the full costs and benefits of inter-specific information use are unknown. We tested whether pied flycatchers use the body size and clutch size of great tits as cues in their reproductive decisions and what are the possible fitness consequences as a function of great tit size. The size of great tit females associated positively with flycatcher's probability to settle near a tit nest over a territory further away. Flycatcher egg mass was positively correlated with great tit female size regardless of flycatcher territory choice. However, in flycatchers that had chosen to nest near great tits, the size of nestlings decreased in relation to increasing great tit female size. Our results demonstrate the use of size of inter-specifics as a cue in reproductive decisions and the trade-off between the value of information and costs of competition information users face when using inter-specific information in decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Panu Välimäki
- University of Oulu, Pentti Kaiteran katu 1, 90570 Oulu, Finland
| | - Jukka T Forsman
- University of Oulu, Pentti Kaiteran katu 1, 90570 Oulu, Finland
- Natural Resources Institute Finland, Paavo Havaksen tie 3, 90570 Oulu, Finland
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5
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Tits (Paridae sp.) use social information when locating and choosing nest lining material. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-023-03289-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
As an important determinant of reproductive success, avian nest building is under strong selection and requires behavioral plasticity to optimize conditions in which offspring develop. Learning is a one form of plasticity that allows adaptation to the local environment. Birds may refine nest-building behavior with personal experience or use social information to guide their choices. While there is mounting evidence for an effect of experience-based learning on nest building and social information use when selecting nesting material in the laboratory, experimental evidence for social information use in wild birds is lacking. Here, we provided sources of two differently colored wool as nest lining material in a wild mixed-species community of tits (Paridae sp.) to investigate experimentally (i) whether females use social information to locate lining materials and (ii) whether preferences for specific materials (here color) are socially influenced. We investigated pathways of social transmission through a foraging association and a spatial breeding network using the time of arrival at the wool in a network-based diffusion analysis. Our results gave evidence that birds learned about the location of lining resources from foraging associates. Furthermore, we found significant non-random clustering of wool colors in nest boxes across the study area, suggestive of a social influence on selecting lining materials. Taken together, we provide quantitative evidence for a role of social information use in both finding and selecting lining material in wild tits and demonstrate that social information use constitutes an important factor towards behavioral plasticity in nest building in wild birds.
Significance statement
As vessels of reproduction, avian nests are under strong selection to provide optimized conditions for developing offspring. Learning is one mechanism that allows individuals to adapt to local environmental conditions. Previous work has shown that nest-building birds use both social information and personal experience to refine their nests. Yet, evidence for social information use for nest construction in the wild has been purely anecdotal and experimental evidence lacking. Here, we demonstrate for the first time experimentally that in wild tits (Paridae sp.), females rely on social information from their foraging associates to locate and choose material to line their nests. This research highlights the importance of social information use as a potential mechanism of behavioral plasticity in wild nest-building birds.
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Breeding near heterospecifics as a defence against brood parasites: can redstarts lower probability of cuckoo parasitism using neighbours? Oecologia 2022; 199:871-883. [PMID: 35978228 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05242-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/07/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
Breeding habitat choice based on the attraction to other species can provide valuable social information and protection benefits. In birds, species with overlapping resources can be a cue of good quality habitats; species with shared predators and/or brood parasites can increase joint vigilance or cooperative mobbing, while raptors may provide a protective umbrella against these threats. We tested whether the migratory common redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) is attracted to breed near active nests of the great tit (Parus major), a keystone-information source for migrant passerine birds, or a top predator, the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). This system is unique to test these questions because the redstart is a regular host for the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). Therefore, we also evaluated other possible benefits coming from the heterospecific attraction, especially in terms of reducing brood parasitism risk. We monitored redstart occupancy rates, onset of breeding, reproductive investment, and followed nest outcomes in terms of brood parasitism, nest predation risk and overall reproductive success. Redstarts avoided breeding near goshawks, but showed neither attraction nor avoidance to breed next to great tits. Both neighbours neither reduced brood parasitism risk nor affected overall nesting success in redstarts. Redstarts may not use heterospecific attraction for settlement decisions, as associations with other species can only exist when some benefits are gained. Thus, environmental cues may be more important than social information for redstarts when breeding habitat choice. Other front-line defence strategies may have a better impact reducing breeding negative interactions, such brood parasitism.
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Jones BC, DuVal EH. Mechanisms of Social Influence: A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Social Information on Female Mate Choice Decisions. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
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8
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Testing the influence of habitat experienced during the natal phase on habitat selection later in life in Scandinavian wolves. Sci Rep 2019; 9:6526. [PMID: 31024020 PMCID: PMC6484024 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-42835-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Accepted: 04/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Natal habitat preference induction (NHPI) occurs when characteristics of the natal habitat influence the future habitat selection of an animal. However, the influence of NHPI after the dispersal phase has received remarkably little attention. We tested whether exposure to humans in the natal habitat helps understand why some adult wolves Canis lupus may approach human settlements more than other conspecifics, a question of both ecological and management interest. We quantified habitat selection patterns within home ranges using resource selection functions and GPS data from 21 wolf pairs in Scandinavia. We identified the natal territory of each wolf with genetic parental assignment, and we used human-related characteristics within the natal territory to estimate the degree of anthropogenic influence in the early life of each wolf. When the female of the adult wolf pair was born in an area with a high degree of anthropogenic influence, the wolf pair tended to select areas further away from humans, compared to wolf pairs from natal territories with a low degree of anthropogenic influence. Yet the pattern was statistically weak, we suggest that our methodological approach can be useful in other systems to better understand NHPI and to inform management about human-wildlife interactions.
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9
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Baden AL. A description of nesting behaviors, including factors impacting nest site selection, in black-and-white ruffed lemurs ( Varecia variegata). Ecol Evol 2019; 9:1010-1028. [PMID: 30805137 PMCID: PMC6374655 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Revised: 10/03/2018] [Accepted: 10/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Nest site selection is at once fundamental to reproduction and a poorly understood component of many organisms' reproductive investment. This study investigates the nesting behaviors of black-and-white ruffed lemurs, Varecia variegata, a litter-bearing primate from the southeastern rainforests of Madagascar. Using a combination of behavioral, geospatial, and demographic data, I test the hypotheses that environmental and social cues influence nest site selection and that these decisions ultimately impact maternal reproductive success. Gestating females built multiple large nests throughout their territories. Of these, females used only a fraction of the originally constructed nests, as well as several parking locations as infants aged. Nest construction was best predicted by environmental cues, including the size of the nesting tree and density of feeding trees within a 75 m radius of the nest, whereas nest use depended largely on the size and average distance to feeding trees within that same area. Microhabitat characteristics were unrelated to whether females built or used nests. Although unrelated to nest site selection, social cues, specifically the average distance to conspecifics' nest and park sites, were related to maternal reproductive success; mothers whose litters were parked in closer proximity to others' nests experienced higher infant survival than those whose nests were more isolated. This is likely because nesting proximity facilitated communal crèche use by neighboring females. Together, these results suggest a complex pattern of nesting behaviors that involves females strategically building nests in areas with high potential resource abundance, using nests in areas according to their realized productivity, and communally rearing infants within a network of nests distributed throughout the larger communal territory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea L. Baden
- Department of AnthropologyHunter College of the City University of New YorkNew YorkNew York
- Departments of Anthropology and BiologyThe Graduate Center of the City University of New YorkNew YorkNew York
- The New York Consortium in Evolutionary PrimatologyNew YorkNew York
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10
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Tolvanen J, Seppänen JT, Mönkkönen M, Thomson RL, Ylönen H, Forsman JT. Interspecific information on predation risk affects nest site choice in a passerine bird. BMC Evol Biol 2018; 18:181. [PMID: 30514204 PMCID: PMC6280475 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-018-1301-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 11/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Breeding site choice constitutes an important part of the species niche. Nest predation affects breeding site choice, and has been suggested to drive niche segregation and local coexistence of species. Interspecific social information use may, in turn, result in copying or rejection of heterospecific niche characteristics and thus affect realized niche overlap between species. We tested experimentally whether a migratory bird, the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca, collects information about nest predation risk from indirect cues of predators visiting nests of heterospecific birds. Furthermore, we investigated whether the migratory birds can associate such information with a specific nest site characteristic and generalize the information to their own nest site choice. Results Our results demonstrate that flycatchers can use the fate of heterospecific nesting attempts in their own nest site choice, but do so selectively. Young flycatcher females, when making the decision quickly, associated the fate of an artificial nest with nest-site characteristics and avoided the characteristic associated with higher nest predation risk. Conclusions Copying nest site choices of successful heterospecifics, and avoiding choices which led to failed attempts, may amplify or counter effects of nest predation on niche overlap, with important consequences for between-species niche divergence-convergence dynamics, species coexistence and predator-prey interactions. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12862-018-1301-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jere Tolvanen
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Oulu, 90014, Oulu, Finland. .,Current Address: Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), University of Oulu, Paavo Havaksen tie 3, 90014, Oulu, Finland.
| | - Janne-Tuomas Seppänen
- Nature and Game Management Trust, Degerby, Finland.,Open Science Centre, University of Jyvaskyla, PO Box 35, 40014 University of Jyvaskyla, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Mikko Mönkkönen
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyvaskyla, PO Box 35, 40014 University of Jyvaskyla, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Robert L Thomson
- Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland.,Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, 7701, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | - Hannu Ylönen
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyvaskyla, Konnevesi Research Station, 44300, Konnevesi, Finland
| | - Jukka T Forsman
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Oulu, 90014, Oulu, Finland.,Current Address: Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), University of Oulu, Paavo Havaksen tie 3, 90014, Oulu, Finland
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11
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Morinay J, Forsman JT, Kivelä SM, Gustafsson L, Doligez B. Heterospecific Nest Site Copying Behavior in a Wild Bird: Assessing the Influence of Genetics and Past Experience on a Joint Breeding Phenotype. Front Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2017.00167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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12
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Samplonius JM, Kromhout Van Der Meer IM, Both C. Nest site preference depends on the relative density of conspecifics and heterospecifics in wild birds. Front Zool 2017; 14:56. [PMID: 29270207 PMCID: PMC5738223 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-017-0246-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 12/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Social learning allows animals to eavesdrop on ecologically relevant knowledge of competitors in their environment. This is especially important when selecting a habitat if individuals have relatively little personal information on habitat quality. It is known that birds can use both conspecific and heterospecific information for social learning, but little is known about the relative importance of each information type. If provided with the choice between them, we expected that animals should copy the behaviour of conspecifics, as these confer the best information for that species. We tested this hypothesis in the field for Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca arriving at their breeding grounds to select a nest box for breeding. We assigned arbitrary symbols to nest boxes of breeding pied flycatchers (conspecifics) and blue and great tits, Cyanistes caeruleus and Parus major (heterospecifics), in 2014 and 2016 in two areas with different densities of tits and flycatchers. After ca 50% of flycatchers had returned and a flycatcher symbol was assigned to their nest box, we gave the later arriving flycatchers the choice between empty nest boxes with either a conspecific (flycatcher) or a heterospecific (tit) symbol. Results As expected, Pied Flycatchers copied the perceived nest box choice of conspecifics, but only in areas that were dominated by flycatchers. Against our initial expectation, flycatchers copied the perceived choice of heterospecifics in the area heavily dominated by tits, even though conspecific minority information was present. Conclusions Our results confirm that the relative density of conspecifics and heterospecifics modulates the propensity to copy or reject novel behavioural traits. By contrasting conspecific and heterospecific ecology in the same study design we were able to draw more general conclusions about the role of fluctuating densities on social information use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jelmer M Samplonius
- Conservation Ecology Group (CONSECO), Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700CC Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Iris M Kromhout Van Der Meer
- Conservation Ecology Group (CONSECO), Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700CC Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Christiaan Both
- Conservation Ecology Group (CONSECO), Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700CC Groningen, the Netherlands
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13
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Mainwaring MC. Causes and Consequences of Intraspecific Variation in Nesting Behaviors: Insights from Blue Tits and Great Tits. Front Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2017.00039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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14
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Hämäläinen L, Rowland HM, Mappes J, Thorogood R. Can video playback provide social information for foraging blue tits? PeerJ 2017; 5:e3062. [PMID: 28344901 PMCID: PMC5363260 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2017] [Accepted: 02/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Video playback is becoming a common method for manipulating social stimuli in experiments. Parid tits are one of the most commonly studied groups of wild birds. However, it is not yet clear if tits respond to video playback or how their behavioural responses should be measured. Behaviours may also differ depending on what they observe demonstrators encountering. Here we present blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) videos of demonstrators discovering palatable or aversive prey (injected with bitter-tasting Bitrex) from coloured feeding cups. First we quantify variation in demonstrators' responses to the prey items: aversive prey provoked high rates of beak wiping and head shaking. We then show that focal blue tits respond differently to the presence of a demonstrator on a video screen, depending on whether demonstrators discover palatable or aversive prey. Focal birds faced the video screen more during aversive prey presentations, and made more head turns. Regardless of prey type, focal birds also hopped more frequently during the presence of a demonstrator (compared to a control video of a different coloured feeding cup in an empty cage). Finally, we tested if demonstrators' behaviour affected focal birds' food preferences by giving individuals a choice to forage from the same cup as a demonstrator, or from the cup in the control video. We found that only half of the individuals made their choice in accordance to social information in the videos, i.e., their foraging choices were not different from random. Individuals that chose in accordance with a demonstrator, however, made their choice faster than individuals that chose an alternative cup. Together, our results suggest that video playback can provide social cues to blue tits, but individuals vary greatly in how they use this information in their foraging decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liisa Hämäläinen
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge , Cambridge , United Kingdom
| | - Hannah M Rowland
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, United Kindgom
| | - Johanna Mappes
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä , Jyväskylä , Finland
| | - Rose Thorogood
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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15
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OWEN MA, SWAISGOOD RR, BLUMSTEIN DT. Contextual influences on animal decision-making: Significance for behavior-based wildlife conservation and management. Integr Zool 2017; 12:32-48. [DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Megan A. OWEN
- Institute for Conservation Research; San Diego Zoo Global; San Diego California USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of California; Los Angeles California USA
| | - Ronald R. SWAISGOOD
- Institute for Conservation Research; San Diego Zoo Global; San Diego California USA
| | - Daniel T. BLUMSTEIN
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of California; Los Angeles California USA
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16
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Guillette LM, Healy SD. The roles of vocal and visual interactions in social learning zebra finches: A video playback experiment. Behav Processes 2016; 139:43-49. [PMID: 28043844 PMCID: PMC5409801 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2016] [Revised: 12/12/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The transmission of information from an experienced demonstrator to a naïve observer often depends on characteristics of the demonstrator, such as familiarity, success or dominance status. Whether or not the demonstrator pays attention to and/or interacts with the observer may also affect social information acquisition or use by the observer. Here we used a video-demonstrator paradigm first to test whether video demonstrators have the same effect as using live demonstrators in zebra finches, and second, to test the importance of visual and vocal interactions between the demonstrator and observer on social information use by the observer. We found that female zebra finches copied novel food choices of male demonstrators they saw via live-streaming video while they did not consistently copy from the demonstrators when they were seen in playbacks of the same videos. Although naive observers copied in the absence of vocalizations by the demonstrator, as they copied from playback of videos with the sound off, females did not copy where there was a mis-match between the visual information provided by the video and vocal information from a live male that was out of sight. Taken together these results suggest that video demonstration is a useful methodology for testing social information transfer, at least in a foraging context, but more importantly, that social information use varies according to the vocal interactions, or lack thereof, between the observer and the demonstrator.
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17
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Guillette LM, Scott ACY, Healy SD. Social learning in nest-building birds: a role for familiarity. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:20152685. [PMID: 27009230 PMCID: PMC4822453 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2015] [Accepted: 02/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
It is becoming apparent that birds learn from their own experiences of nest building. What is not clear is whether birds can learn from watching conspecifics build. As social learning allows an animal to gain information without engaging in costly trial-and-error learning, first-time builders should exploit the successful habits of experienced builders. We presented first-time nest-building male zebra finches with either a familiar or an unfamiliar conspecific male building with material of a colour the observer did not like. When given the opportunity to build, males that had watched a familiar male build switched their material preference to that used by the familiar male. Males that observed unfamiliar birds did not. Thus, first-time nest builders use social information and copy the nest material choices when demonstrators are familiar but not when they are strangers. The relationships between individuals therefore influence how nest-building expertise is socially transmitted in zebra finches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren M Guillette
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Alice C Y Scott
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Susan D Healy
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK
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Understanding the multiple factors governing social learning and the diffusion of innovations. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2016.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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19
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Szymkowiak J, Thomson RL, Kuczyński L. Wood warblers copy settlement decisions of poor quality conspecifics: support for the tradeoff between the benefit of social information use and competition avoidance. OIKOS 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.03052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Szymkowiak
- Dept of Avian Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biology; Adam Mickiewicz University; Umultowska 89 PL-61-614 Poznań Poland
| | - Robert L. Thomson
- Dept of Biology; Univ. of Turku; FI-200014 Turku Finland
- P. FitzPatrick Inst. of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, Univ. of Cape Town; Rondebosch 7701 South Africa
| | - Lechosław Kuczyński
- Dept of Avian Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biology; Adam Mickiewicz University; Umultowska 89 PL-61-614 Poznań Poland
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20
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21
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The use and relative importance of intraspecific and interspecific social information in a bird community. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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22
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Forsman JT, Kivelä SM, Jaakkonen T, Seppänen JT, Gustafsson L, Doligez B. Avoiding perceived past resource use of potential competitors affects niche dynamics in a bird community. BMC Evol Biol 2014; 14:175. [PMID: 25123229 PMCID: PMC4236583 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-014-0175-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2014] [Accepted: 07/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Social information use is usually considered to lead to ecological convergence among involved con- or heterospecific individuals. However, recent results demonstrate that observers can also actively avoid behaving as those individuals being observed, leading to ecological divergence. This phenomenon has been little explored so far, yet it can have significant impact on resource use, realized niches and species co-existence. In particular, the time-scale and the ecological context over which such shifts can occur are unknown. We examined with a long-term (four years) field experiment whether experimentally manipulated, species-specific, nest-site feature preferences (symbols on nest boxes) are transmitted across breeding seasons and affect future nest-site preferences in a guild of three cavity-nesting birds. RESULTS Of the examined species, resident great tits (Parus major) preferred the symbol that had been associated with unoccupied nest boxes in the previous year, i.e., their preference shifted towards niche space previously unused by putative competitors and conspecifics. CONCLUSIONS Our results show that animals can remember the earlier resource use of conspecifics and other guild members and adjust own decisions accordingly one year after. Our experiment cannot reveal the ultimate mechanism(s) behind the observed behaviour but avoiding costs of intra- or interspecific competition or ectoparasite load in old nests are plausible reasons. Our findings imply that interspecific social information use can affect resource sharing and realized niches in ecological time-scale through active avoidance of observed decisions and behavior of potentially competing species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jukka T Forsman
- Department of Biology, University of Oulu, Oulu, FI-90014, Finland.
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Loukola OJ, Seppänen JT, Krams I, Torvinen SS, Forsman JT. Observed fitness may affect niche overlap in competing species via selective social information use. Am Nat 2013; 182:474-83. [PMID: 24021400 DOI: 10.1086/671815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Social information transmission is important because it enables horizontal spread of behaviors, not only between conspecifics but also between individuals of different species. Because interspecific social information use is expected to take place among species with similar resource needs, it may have major consequences for the emergence of local adaptations, resource sharing, and community organization. Social information use is expected to be selective, but the conditions promoting it in an interspecific context are not well known. Here, we experimentally test whether pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) use the clutch size of great tits (Parus major) in determining the quality of the observed individual and use it as a basis of decision making. We show that pied flycatchers copied or rejected a novel nest site feature preference of great tits experimentally manipulated to exhibit high or low fitness (clutch size), respectively. Our results demonstrate that the social transmission of behaviors across species can be highly selective in response to observed fitness, plausibly making the phenomenon adaptive. In contrast with the current theory of species coexistence, overlap between realized niches of species could dynamically increase or decrease depending on the observed success of surrounding individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olli J Loukola
- Department of Biology, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, 90014 Oulu, Finland
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Slagsvold T, Wigdahl Kleiven K, Eriksen A, Johannessen LE. Vertical and horizontal transmission of nest site preferences in titmice. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.10.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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